$450-$500 Gaming PC Builds

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Budget Builder

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Dec 15, 2014
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Good afternoon! I was hoping to get some builds from the community regarding $400-$500 builds for a PC that is primarily meant for gaming purposes. People always talk about how you can spend $400-$500 on a custom PC that can outperform a PS4/XBone and I would love for it to run all of the "next gen" games at Ultra/60 FPS. However, I am also realistic in understanding that it may not be possible with this budget. I would like to know what a best build would look like to achieve close to Ultra settings/60 FPS on games like Far Cry 4, Battlefield 4, upcoming Witcher 3, etc. I also want to play games like Civilization 5, maybe some WoW, and assume those games require much less from a hardware standpoint.

Here is a build I found online:

CPU Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core $64.98
Motherboard Asus H81M-D PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 $44.49
Memory Corsair Vengeance 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 $54.99
Storage Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM $52.49
Video Card EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB $120.98
Case Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower $29.99
Power Supply EVGA 500W ATX12V / EPS12V $34.99
Optical Drive Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer $14.98
Operating System Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) $89.98

Please let me know about any PC build recommendations you might have! I am new to this and I appreciate your input. I am also looking for any wireless network adapter suggestions, thank you!
 
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Rapajez
R9 280: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-video-card-r9280atdfd
R9 280X: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-video-card-r9280xtdfd
GTX 760: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-gtx760dc2oc2gd5
There's also the R9 285, which is essentially between the two R9's in performance.

I take back my earlier statement though. Prices have shuffled, and as of today, the GTX 760 MAY be the best value. Here's a good tool for comparing any 2 cards across multiple games. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1038?vs=1041

All that said, these cards are all pretty close in terms of performance, so just go with whatever is offering the best deal when you pull the trigger.
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Tom_Taplin

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May 26, 2014
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Windows 8.1 can be installed via USB, and a full key can be as cheap as $40 if you're lucky, Your right in that you will not need a good CPu mainly(excluding AC unity and Far cry 4) But if you could get a GTX 760 you will see resonable performance benefits
 
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DarkSable

DarkSable

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Sep 27, 2012
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Let me put it this way. The PS4 and xbone run games somewhere between 720 and 1080p. They do NOT get 60fps consistently. And in almost every case, the settings used are equal to or worse than the lowest preset on the PC version of the game.

That means something running at 1080p, 60fps, and medium settings is going to blow the graphics of the consoles out of the water. Doing THAT is accomplishable on a $500 budget... if you don't need an operating system, ditch the optical drive, and are willing to overclock.

It's difficult for a $1200 PC to max out the three games you named, because of hardware limitations and the way they're coded. Do a little bit of research and understand both what's reasonable and what's what compared to the consoles. You can easily build a $500 computer that will blow the consoles away, but it'll require sacrifices here and there.
 
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Budget Builder

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Dec 15, 2014
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Thanks for the responses everyone. For those of you mentioning what should be realistically expected from a good build, any chance you could provide a better build than the one I listed? Something that could play these higher end games + others at between medium-ultra, 1920 x 1080 p, 60fps, or at least between 45-60. All complete build suggestions would be helpful!

 
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Budget Builder

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How would I go about getting 8.1 onto a USB if I do not have a current copy of Windows? I just download it on a laptop, put it on a USB, then boot it up once I have the PC built?
 
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Rapajez

Rapajez

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Jul 17, 2014
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You download the Windows 7 USB/Install Tool. http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/windows-usb-dvd-download-tool

Then you need a USB drive with at least 4GB of space (it will be wiped, so back up whatever is on it), and an ISO file of Windows. You can download a legal copy Windows 8.1 as an ISO file from digital river, or burn an existing copy to an ISO file on your laptop. Then fire up the tool and it will do the rest for you.

As far as the build, just try to squeeze in a R9 270 if you can. The XFX model is only $30 more, and will have a much easier time with 1080p (and middle-ish settings) than the Ti 750. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GN1Y43E/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00GN1Y43E&linkCode=as2&tag=hardwarevol03-20

+1 the dual channel kit. Also, I believe that motherboard only will run at 1600Mhz memory speed, so if the 1866 is more expensive, just get 1600.
 
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DarkSable

DarkSable

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Sep 27, 2012
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Slightly over budget, but significantly more powerful for the more intense games:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($108.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($71.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB DirectCU II Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $555.76
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-15 19:39 EST-0500

Also, Tom_Taplin and Budget Builder, be careful... Tom's Hardware specifically prohibits any conversations regarding, erm... questionable downloading practices.
 
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Rapajez

Rapajez

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+1, Dark Sable's build. The Hyper Threading in that i3 should at least help balance out only having a dual-core. If you're going to upgrade the Pentium to an i5 or i7 down the road anyway, you can stick with your original CPU.

The only comment I'll make, is that the GTX 760 isn't the best in it's price-range. If it's really $180 after the rebate, I supose it's worth it. Otherwise, you can find the almost-even AMD R9 280 for $170 without a rebate, and the faster 3GB R9 280X for about the full price of a GTX 760.

Now go forth and build!
 
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Rapajez

Rapajez

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R9 280: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-video-card-r9280atdfd
R9 280X: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-video-card-r9280xtdfd
GTX 760: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-video-card-gtx760dc2oc2gd5
There's also the R9 285, which is essentially between the two R9's in performance.

I take back my earlier statement though. Prices have shuffled, and as of today, the GTX 760 MAY be the best value. Here's a good tool for comparing any 2 cards across multiple games. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1038?vs=1041

All that said, these cards are all pretty close in terms of performance, so just go with whatever is offering the best deal when you pull the trigger.
 
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